In this text, Tajik blogger Roxana Burkhanova describes, in Russian, the history and current status of Christianity and paganism in Russia as well as touches upon issues of religious freedom. While Orthodox Christianity is the most popular and politically powerful religion in Russia, pagan traditions still survive and other Christian faiths exist. This is part […]

In this text, Tajik blogger Roxana Burkhanova describes, in Russian, the history and current status of Buddhism in Russia. Buddhism is a small but historically important minority faith in Russia, especially in the Southern regions of Tuva, Buryatia, and Kalmykia. The material below details both the challenges that Buddhists have faced in integrating to wider […]

In this text, Tajik blogger Roxana Burkhanova describes, in Russian, the history and religions under the USSR. Despite the state’s officially athiestic policies, multiple religions existed within the USSR. Since that empire’s demise, all of those religions are now experiencing a revival. The material below details how this came to pass. This is part of […]

The Talking Phrasebook Series presents useful phrases and words in side-by-side translation and with audio files specifically geared to help students work on listening skills and pronunciation. Each entry below, divided by category, features an English word or phrase in the left column and its Buryat translation in the right. The Buryat is presented in […]

Manti (манты) are steamed dumplings consisting of ground meat and spices in an unleavened pastry shell. Manti are a popular dish across Central Asia, Pakistan, Northern China, Turkey, and Russia. They are considered native to Central Asia and are now thought to perhaps be the world’s first dumpling. How Manti Got Their Name (Почему они […]

Dacha – a summer house with rich cultural and economic history – is an integral part of Russian life. To help students get familiar with its peculiarities, regular visits are organised by SRAS to dachas outside of Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Irkutsk. Here, we asked our students from all of those locations to share their […]

The following resource is meant to quickly but thoroughly overview the subject of religion in Russia. It includes statistics on membership, information on major organizations and institutions, and links to sites offering histories. Mention of religion in other FSU countries is made as well. Your suggestions and comments are always welcome! Contact the Author Table […]

National Unity Day is celebrated on November 4th. Russia’s absolute newest holiday, created in 2004, celebrates the liberation of Moscow from Polish troops in 1612 and the subsequent end of the “time of troubles.” This is the first time in nearly 400 years, however, that an official state holiday has marked the occasion, leading many […]

The Republic of Buryatia is located in South Central Siberia sharing Lake Baikal with Irkutsk Oblast. Roughly 500,000 people identify as Buryat making the Buryats the largest indigenous group in Siberia. The Buryat people are descents of several different ethnic groups including Mongolian and indigenous Siberian. Because of this, Buryat culture is an interesting and […]

One of my favorite things about living in/traveling to other countries is getting to know the national cuisine. Irkutsk is located right next to the (Russian) Republic of Buryatia, and as such has a large population of ethnic Buryats (they’re closely related to Mongolians). I also love cooking, though with a minimum of skill, so […]

Today there are approximately 500,000 people that identify with the largest indigenous group living in Siberia, the Buryats.  The Buryats are a group of people descendent of various Siberian and Mongolian people that inhabited the Lake Baikal area, where most of the ethnic group is still concentrated, with many continuing to engage in traditional ways […]

Shamanism is the common name for the traditional religions of a number of native Siberian peoples; the word describes a system of beliefs in which a large number of spirits, gods, and ancestors affect daily life on earth and can be called upon and influence by specially gifted individuals called shamans. While groups such as […]